Global manufacturing giant Spirax Group has issued a stark warning that tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump are creating significant uncertainty and dampening business confidence worldwide.
Financial Performance Amid Global Uncertainty
The Cheltenham-headquartered FTSE-100 company reported that industrial production in its third quarter fell below levels seen in the first half of the year. This decline was attributed to continued weakness across several major markets, including the United States, Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
Despite these challenging conditions, the engineering firm confirmed its full-year guidance remains unchanged. In a trading update covering the four months to October 31, the company revealed it has revised its forecast for global industrial production, excluding China, down to just 1.6% for the year.
Strategic Focus and Cost Savings
Spirax Group, which employs approximately 10,000 people across 68 countries, stated it has continued to concentrate on strategic priorities within its control to drive growth and improve margins.
The company reported that both group organic sales growth and adjusted operating profit margin for the ten months ended October 31 exceeded the performance recorded in the first half of the year.
Significant progress has been made on the company's restructuring programme, which is on track to deliver annual savings of approximately £35 million. Most of these savings are being reinvested into the company's organic growth priorities, with associated costs expected to be mostly incurred in 2025.
Leadership Commentary and Future Outlook
In August, Group Chief Executive Nimesh Patel highlighted that staff across the business had intensified their focus on growth drivers within the company's control as part of the implementation of its 'Together for Growth' strategy.
Patel emphasised that their significant operational efficiency and simplification programme is funding investment in future drivers of accelerated and sustained long-term growth, including digital transformation and decarbonisation initiatives.
The company added that its adjusted operating profit margin is expected to surpass the currency-adjusted margin achieved in 2024, demonstrating resilience despite the challenging global trade environment created by the Trump administration's tariff policies.
